Edwards reflects on 'pleasing' end to final Tickford season
Tickford's strong finish "pleasing" for outgoing boss Tim Edwards
Edwards will head up Supercars motorsport operations from 2024
Cam Waters won two of the final four races in 2023
A successful end to 2023 proved “pleasing” for outgoing Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards, who will join Supercars in 2024.
After a torrid first two-thirds of the season, punctuated by a DNF for star driver Cam Waters in Bathurst, Tickford came home with a wet sail to bring home silverware in the final two rounds.
Waters won the Saturday races on the Gold Coast and Adelaide, with Thomas Randle scoring an impressive podium behind Waters last Saturday.
It was the perfect tonic for Edwards, who after first leading Tickford in Adelaide in 2005, will head up Supercars motorsport operations from 2024.
Edwards cited the team’s final burst to finish fourth in the teams’ standings a highlight, given the team languished in sixth after Bathurst.
"It was a pleasing end to the season. It’s not just Adelaide, either, when you combine the results from the Gold Coast with Cam Waters’ win there,” said Edwards, who was gifted Waters' winning helmet after the weekend.
"Both Thomas Randle and Cam had good car speed this weekend and they were able to race at the front. We’d didn’t have quite enough pace on Sunday to fight for the podium but it was still a good result.
"We had three cars in the Top 10 on Saturday and two on Sunday, and it was great to see that Declan Fraser lit up and took the fastest lap on Sunday.
"Given the challenge we’ve faced this year, to finish fourth in teams’ championship – just behind third – was probably a good result when we were only competitive for 20 per cent of the season.”
Tickford is set for more changes in 2024, with the team not only looking for a new boss, but downsizing to two cars.
James Courtney has already been confirmed alongside Aaron Love in an expanded Blanchard Racing Team line-up for the new season.
The team is also set to run again in the Dunlop Series, albeit with a rejigged line-up after the departure of Elly Morrow.
Tickford’s bid for a second championship will commence at the Thrifty Bathurst 500 on February 23-25, 2024.
